


Ardyn Cat-zunia

by Kaoru_chibimaster



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cats, End Game, FFXV kinkmeme, Gen, Lots of Cats, Timeskip, non explicit prompt, this fic has a hard time deciding if its funny or depressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 15:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10834413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaoru_chibimaster/pseuds/Kaoru_chibimaster
Summary: There were more cats than daemons, and that was just plain weird.





	Ardyn Cat-zunia

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fill for this kinkmeme prompt: https://ffxv-kinkmeme.dreamwidth.org/3451.html?thread=3452539#cmt3452539  
> "Ardyn, Old Cat Man"

The trip to Insomnia went as expected. Daemons everywhere. And though the King of Light and his Kingsglaive had fought rather valiantly through the endless hordes, they had to admit that they were tired. Noctis especially was starting to reach his limit, incredibly grateful that havens still served their purpose well even in eternal night. While he had retained all of his abilities, even gaining some power through the crystal’s light and the ring’s strength, he was not as used to the constant daemon barrages as his friends were. And they were quickly falling into exhaustion as well. The breaks along the way were more than necessary. Not only for the much appreciated respite, but for the opportunity it had given Noctis to tell them what needed to be told. Despite how he dreaded to relay the revelation Bahamut had given him…they were his best friends, his brothers, and they needed to know.

That first rest, tears were shed.

The subsequent ones, a numb acceptance fell over the group. None of them could quite accept that Noctis would be gone, especially now that they’d finally gotten him back after so long, but they could at least accept his resolve. They understood his determination, and none of them could find it in themselves to deter him from his path. Noctis, as his forefathers had, would finally ascend to the throne, even if it meant his life. And in exchange for the return of light to the world, well, at least they could proudly say their king went out with a bang. This didn’t make it hurt any less, however.

The group powered on still, taking down every daemon that dared stand in their path. They did not go out of their way to fight daemons however, determined to save their strength for Insomnia. They were sure the once vibrant city was overflowing with the creatures by this point. Considering how densely populated with them the bridge leading into the city was, it didn’t take long for their guesses to be proven fact. And, as expected, when they finally reached Insomnia itself, they found themselves almost immediately surrounded by daemons of every shape and size ready to rip their small group to shreds.

What they hadn’t expected were the—

“Cats?!”

Prompto’s outburst earned raised eyebrows from his other companions, who only had few chances to look away. Accosted by a dozen MTs all at once the moment they entered the city, they hadn’t had much chance to look around. However, once their first hurdle was surpassed, they did indeed notice that there was an…extraordinary amount of cats hanging about the city. More so than the daemons in the streets they’d wager, considering they were _everywhere_.

“Is that…meowing I hear?” Ignis asked, unable to see what the others were seeing. Not thinking, Prompto nodded, before his eyes widened and he quickly rectified his mistake.

“Yeah, that’s meowing alright. There are cats all over the place!” he answered.

“What’s this all about? No way there’d be this many animals around with how heavy the scourge is here. Especially ones as tiny as these guys,” Gladio mentioned, crouching down as one cat padded over to the group and started meowing at them.

“I think I know why…” Noctis said, making a face. The others stood silent, waiting for him to elaborate.

-o-

_“Consider it your allowance,” the strange man smirked. Gladio stepped forward, holding himself between the man and Noctis._

_“Yeah? And who’s allowing us?” he’d asked. The man only shrugged nonchalantly._

_“A man of no consequence,” was his simple response. Noctis didn’t believe him for a second._

_“Tch. Yeah right,” he snorted. The group turned back to the direction of the docks, determined to find out for themselves if the strange man’s words were true. However, Noctis stood for a moment longer, watching the man for any suspicious movement. Yet the only time he’d stopped was to crouch down on the bridge, holding out his hand. It looked as if he was petting a small, white creature. A cat?_

-o-

_“Dying here is not an option! We have no choice, Noct.”_

_Conflicted as he was, Noctis had to agree with Ignis: they truly had no choice. His expression was pained as he turned to his advisor, knowing he might later regret this decision._

_“I know.”_

_The four scrambled aboard the imperial ship, their eyes on Ardyn the entire time. He’d only grinned in response, looking for all the world too innocent despite just having revealed his status as the imperial chancellor. No one let their guard down for an instant though. Not when the chancellor’s yellow eyes watched them like a hawk. Nonetheless, he’d extended an arm out as if presenting the interior of the ship. ‘Welcome to my humble accommodations’ he’d said. ‘Though they may not be quite up to royal standards, I should hope they’ll do. After all, up here is better than down there’. A finger was pointed towards the loading dock, indicating what was beyond; what the four friends could have been left in. They tried not to think about how lucky they were to be in an imperial ship rather than charred remains in the middle of the Disc._

_Looking around themselves, they had found a surprising lack of MTs. While a few were manning the controls, there was a noticeable lack of guns in their faces. Noctis’ first thought to this was how bold the chancellor must be to not hold them at gun point when they could easily pull out their weapons and rid the world of the man then and there. His second thought?_

_Why on Eos were there so many cats prowling the ship?_

-o-

_“Allow me to regale you with a tale.”_

_Noctis struggled against the pull of the crystal, only half listening as Ardyn proceeded to recount his backstory. It was a somber tale, one of a man who was demonized by the very people he healed and ostracized by the very gods he served, usurped by a jealous king who had not yet been chosen by the crystal. Though Noctis wasn’t sure whether to believe the tale or not, he couldn’t deny the pulse of surprise and fear when the man revealed his true name._

_Ardyn Lucis Caelum declared then that he would not be satisfied killing Noctis as a mortal, and bid him come back with the crystal’s power. Unsure of what to make of this, Noctis watched pained and terrified as the last face he saw for the next decade smiled grimly at him._

_“Come back soon. I and my little friends shall keep your friends company until you are ready.”_

_As the world around Noctis blurred into white, he’d caught sight of a small four-legged creature sauntering up behind Ardyn. And then Zegnautus was no more._

-o-

“So you’re telling me this guy’s some sort of cat maniac?” Gladio asked after Noctis had finished recounting his observations.

“I don’t think it really needed to be said. I mean, look around you,” Noctis replied.

And true enough, cats all but flooded the area. They were prowling the streets, perched atop windowsills, laid out across car roofs, and were even bunched together in the subway stations. Even stranger was the fact that the daemons were leaving them alone. As the four men continued to fight their way to the citadel, they found themselves extra careful not to step on or trip over any of the felines. Easier said than done, considering the sheer amount of them living amongst the rubble. Ignis was particularly careful, glaring down in concentration at a ground he couldn’t see as he tried to avoid the small animals. It had gotten particularly hectic when they were swarmed with daemons and MTs all at once in the underground. The loud meowing was a distraction to Ignis, and Prompto was more than a little ashamed to admit that he had in fact tripped over at least one or two cats.

By the time they had reached the citadel’s gates, harried and half-frozen from the barrage of blizzard spells they met at the paws of a king behemoth, they weren’t sure they could take any more. A small break was stolen just past the front gates at a small rest area. The four sat on the tiny beds in the cramped room, catching their breath and administering potions to minor wounds. Noctis leaned back.

“Seriously, where the hell did all these cats come from?” he asked, tiredly rubbing his knee as he rested his head against the wall. As if in response, a small tabby jumped into his lap and started rubbing its head against his arm, purring loudly. Despite his annoyance with the abundance of the cats…he wasn’t going to ignore one when it wanted his attention. He reached down and started to scratch behind its ears.

“Judging from our previous encounters with the man, I wouldn’t put it passed him to have spent the last ten years collecting and caring for the cats,” Ignis answered. He reflexively looked down when another one started to rub against his pants leg. He reached down in its general direction and felt for its head, petting it once he found it.

“Yeah, he did seem to like cats a whole lot more than most. Was always surrounded by them,” Prompto pointed out. He’d somehow ended up with a golden haired one in his arms, and was holding it away from his face so that its long fur didn’t send him into a sneezing fit.

“Hmph. That’s dedication, putting all that time into filling an entire city with cats,” Gladio snorted, running his fingers along the back of a large brown-haired cat that had muscled its way into his personal space. “Sounds like someone we know.”

Heads turned toward Noctis, who was now playing host to multiple cats that had climbed on him and claimed him as their new bed. He didn’t seem to mind.

“Now Noct,” Ignis smirked, easily able to imagine the scene as he heard the chorus of purring from Noctis’ direction. “We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted for too long. We have more battles ahead of us and…”

Ignis trailed off as he realized the meaning behind what he had been about to say next. That it was high time Ardyn was booted off of the throne so that Noctis may take his rightful place. Prompto and Gladio fell quiet as well, looking to the floor in barely concealed despair. For a moment, it had been easy to forget how much closer they were getting to forever losing their best friend; easy to fall back into their old routines, sitting around one another and speaking easily of their experiences. Noctis kept his head held high, however.

“You’re right, Specs. It’s time we finished this.”

Dragging themselves out of their resting spot, they found themselves standing before the front gates of the citadel, staring at the building beyond. Noctis pushed the heavy gates open and walked forward. At the steps stood Ardyn, watching the four expectantly. At his feet were strewn a small group of kittens, mewling incessantly at the man. They watched as he picked the kittens up, cooed at them, and then carried them to the top of the staircase before turning to look down his nose at the king and his friends.

“Ifrit, the Infernian,” he sneered, grandly waving his hands in a wide gesture as the kittens clung to him. “He doesn’t share the Glacian’s fondness for mankind. But you can expect a…warm welcome. I shall await you above.”

And from the ground sprung the Infernian himself, seated upon a throne of burning thistle branches and looking upon the four men with the utmost disdain. They knew then, that this would be their hardest fight yet. Within seconds, the area had risen to oven-like temperatures and the fighters were reduced to huddling behind rubble to recoup. Even after they’d thrown all they had at the astral, even after they’d summoned the Draconian on him, even after he’d been dragged out of his seat and had the brunt force of their combined abilities used against him, it’d taken Shiva’s intervention to keep them from dropping like flies.

Picking themselves up and tending to their injuries once more, they entered the citadel to find it fully lit and well kept. Even the elevator was still working. And of course…more cats. They found themselves standing awkwardly in the elevator as their tiny companions took the ride up alongside them. And even more so when those companions crowded out of the elevator at its stop, eerily reminiscent of the humans who used to work at the citadel doing the same. Shrugging, they followed the cats out of the elevator and to the entrance to the throne room where they stopped before the door. That was it. Beyond that door awaited the final battle. Noctis turned to his friends.

“Hold on a sec. Prompto, can I see your photos?”

Prompto blinked in surprise. “Uh…Yeah.”

“I just need one,” Noctis added. “To take with me.”

Understanding what his best friend meant, Prompto pulled out his collection of photos and held them out to Noctis. They were carefully thumbed through and commented on, bringing back fond memories for the group. When one was decided upon, Noctis smiled down at it –a group photo of the four in happier, simpler times– and knew this was one memory he would cherish forever. Even in the beyond.

Now fully prepared, the group entered the throne room…to a gruesome sight. Noctis stared, bewildered and disgusted, at the bodies of his father, his betrothed, his father’s best glaive, and what even looked to be Emperor Iedolas himself as they hung suspended from the ceiling, battered and oozing black blood. The throne room itself looked torn apart, the left wall partially blown out as rubble covered the stairway. And in the center of the mess, stood before the throne, was Ardyn, peering down at the group with a mixture of malice and smugness.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck,” he laughed. “The throne brings you here? It seats only one.”

Stepping aside, he held out a hand towards that very throne.

“And that one would be Mr. Fluffypants.”

On the seat of the throne sat a very fat, very well groomed black cat. Its tail flicked as it stared down imperiously at the chosen king.

Noctis’ enraged expression slowly dropped, smoothing out into blank confusion. He opened his mouth…closed it for a moment, and then opened it again.

“I’d say ‘off my throne’, but you know what? I kinda want Mr. Fluffypants to stay there.”

Ardyn grinned. Ignis, Prompto and Gladio stared at Noctis in varying degrees of frustration and amusement. Noctis turned to them, his blond best friend in particular.

“Prompto, get a picture of this. I want you to frame it with the caption ‘Fluffypants Lucis Caelum CXV, True King of Lucis’. Make it really fancy too.”

Prompto cracked a grin at Noctis’ antics, glad he was able to find some humor in their comparatively bleak situation, before mock-saluting.

“Aye, aye Highness,” he chuckled, pulling out his camera and snapping a photo of the cat upon the throne. Ardyn even had the good grace to step away further to allow the cat the center stage.

“Ahem,” Ignis coughed reluctantly, frowning at the sound of the shutter. “I don’t think this is really the time to…”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Noctis interrupted, looking to Prompto once again. “Get one more. I want to take this one with me too.”

The sighs in response were only overshadowed by Ardyn’s entertained cackling.


End file.
